How to Stream Dynamic 5G AR / MR Experiences to 5G Devices with Updateable Scenes

Abstract

A method is provided, the method including the steps of selecting media content including a scene, creating an augmented reality (AR) / mixed reality (MR) session for streaming the media content in an outer session loop, rendering the media content in an inner session loop within the outer session loop, and updating the scene in the outer session loop with the new scene by providing the new scene to the inner session loop while the inner session loop is rendering the media content.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 275,358, filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on November 3, 2021, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to fifth generation (5G) augmented reality (AR) / mixed reality (MR), and more particularly to a method and apparatus for providing AR / MR content to 5G devices with dynamically updated scenes. [Background technology]

[0003] 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®) TS 26.501 specifies the media streaming architecture for fifth generation (5G) networks. 3GPP has launched technical reports on the support of augmented reality (AR) / mixed reality (MR) applications. 3GPP TR 26.998 specifies the support of glasses-based AR / MR devices in 5G networks. Two device classes are considered: devices that can fully decode and play complex AR / MR content (i.e., standalone AR (STAR)) and devices that have smaller computational resources and / or smaller physical size (i.e., smaller battery) and can run such applications only if the majority of the computation is performed on the 5G edge server, network, or cloud, not on the device (edge-dependent AR (EDGAR)). However, the call flow for STAR devices cannot update the scene description. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] According to one aspect of the disclosure, a method may include selecting media content including a scene; creating, in an outer session loop, an augmented reality (AR) / mixed reality (MR) session for streaming the media content; rendering, in an inner session loop within the outer session loop, the media content; and updating, in the outer session loop, the scene with the new scene by providing the new scene to the inner session loop while the inner session loop is rendering the media content.

[0005] According to aspects of the disclosure, a device may include at least one memory configured to store program code and at least one processor configured to read the program code and operate as instructed by the program code, the program code including a first selection code configured to cause the at least one processor to select media content including a scene; a first creation code configured to cause the at least one processor to create, in an outer session loop, an AR / MR session for streaming the media content; a first rendering code configured to cause the at least one processor to render the media content in an inner session loop within the outer session loop; and a first update code configured to cause the at least one processor to update, in the outer session loop, a scene with a new scene by providing a new scene to the inner session loop while the inner session loop is rendering the media content.

[0006] According to one aspect of the disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium can store instructions including one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the one or more processors to select media content including a scene; create an AR / MR session for streaming the media content in an outer session loop; render the media content in an inner session loop within the outer session loop; and update the scene with the new scene in the outer session loop by providing the new scene to the inner session loop while the inner session loop is rendering the media content.

[0007] Further features, nature and various advantages of the disclosed subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an environment in which the methods, apparatus, and systems described herein may be implemented, according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram of example components of one or more devices of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a media architecture for media uplink streaming, according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a media architecture for media downlink streaming, according to an embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a standalone augmented reality (AR) (STAR) 5th generation media streaming downlink (5GMSd) download architecture according to an embodiment. [Figure 6A] FIG. 1 is a diagram of the operational flow of STAR-based 5G downlink streaming according to an embodiment. [Figure 6B] FIG. 1 is a diagram of the operational flow of STAR-based 5G downlink streaming according to an embodiment. [Figure 6C] FIG. 1 is a diagram of the operational flow of STAR-based 5G downlink streaming according to an embodiment. [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart of a method for STAR-based 5G downlink streaming according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] 1 is a diagram of an environment 100 in which methods, apparatus, and systems described herein may be implemented, according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, environment 100 may include a user device 110, a platform 120, and a network 130. The devices of environment 100 may be interconnected via wired connections, wireless connections, or a combination of wired and wireless connections.

[0010] User device 110 includes one or more devices that can receive, generate, store, process, and / or provide information related to platform 120. For example, user device 110 can include a computing device (e.g., a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a handheld computer, a smart speaker, a server, etc.), a mobile phone (e.g., a smartphone, a wireless phone, etc.), a wearable device (e.g., smart glasses or a smart watch), or a similar device. In some implementations, user device 110 can receive information from platform 120 and / or transmit information to platform 120.

[0011] Platform 120 may include one or more devices as described elsewhere herein. In some implementations, platform 120 may include a cloud server or a collection of cloud servers. In some implementations, platform 120 may be designed to be modular such that software components may be swapped in or out depending on specific needs. Thus, platform 120 may be easily and / or quickly reconfigured for different uses.

[0012] In some implementations, as shown, platform 120 may be hosted within a cloud computing environment 122. Notably, although the implementations described herein describe platform 120 as being hosted within a cloud computing environment 122, in some implementations platform 120 may not be cloud-based (i.e., may be implemented outside of a cloud computing environment) or may be partially cloud-based.

[0013] Cloud computing environment 122 includes an environment that hosts platform 120. Cloud computing environment 122 can provide services, such as computation, software, data access, storage, etc., that do not require end-user (e.g., user device 110) knowledge of the physical location and configuration of the system(s) and / or device(s) that host platform 120. As shown, cloud computing environment 122 can include a collection of computing resources 124 (collectively referred to as “computing resources 124” and individually referred to as “computing resource 124”).

[0014] The computing resources 124 include one or more personal computers, workstation computers, server devices, or other types of computing and / or communication devices. In some implementations, the computing resources 124 may host the platform 120. Cloud resources may include computational instances running within the computing resources 124, storage devices provided within the computing resources 124, data transfer devices provided by the computing resources 124, and the like. In some implementations, the computing resources 124 may communicate with other computing resources 124 via wired connections, wireless connections, or a combination of wired and wireless connections.

[0015] As further shown in FIG. 1, the computing resources 124 include a collection of cloud resources such as one or more applications (APPs) 124-1, one or more virtual machines (VMs) 124-2, virtualized storage (VS) 124-3, and one or more hypervisors (HYPs) 124-4.

[0016] The application 124-1 includes one or more software applications that may be provided to or accessed by the user device 110 and / or the platform 120. The application 124-1 may eliminate the need for a software application to be installed on and run on the user device 110. For example, the application 124-1 may include software related to the platform 120 and / or any other software that may be provided via the cloud computing environment 122. In some implementations, one application 124-1 may send / receive information to / from one or more other applications 124-1 via the virtual machine 124-2.

[0017] The virtual machine 124-2 includes a software implementation of a machine (e.g., a computer) that executes programs like a physical machine. The virtual machine 124-2 can be either a system virtual machine or a process virtual machine, depending on the use by the virtual machine 124-2 and the degree of correspondence to any real machine. A system virtual machine can provide a complete system platform that supports the execution of a complete operating system (OS). A process virtual machine can execute a single program and can also support a single process. In some implementations, the virtual machine 124-2 can run on behalf of a user (e.g., the user device 110) and can also manage the infrastructure of the cloud computing environment 122, such as data management, synchronization, long-term data transfer, etc.

[0018] Virtualized storage 124-3 includes one or more storage systems and / or one or more devices that use virtualization techniques within the storage systems or storage devices of computing resources 124. In some implementations, within the context of storage systems, types of virtualization can include block virtualization and file virtualization. Block virtualization can refer to the abstraction (or separation) of logical storage from physical storage so that the storage system can be accessed regardless of the physical storage or heterogeneous structure. The separation can allow administrators of the storage system flexibility in how they manage the storage for end users. File virtualization can eliminate the dependency between data accessed at the file level and where the file is physically stored. This can enable optimization of storage usage, server consolidation, and / or non-disruptive file movement.

[0019] The hypervisor 124-4 may provide hardware virtualization technology that allows multiple operating systems (e.g., "guest operating systems") to run simultaneously on a host computer, such as the computing resource 124. The hypervisor 124-4 may present a virtual operating platform to the guest operating systems and may also manage the execution of the guest operating systems. Multiple instances of different operating systems may share virtualized hardware resources.

[0020] Network 130 may include one or more wired and / or wireless networks. For example, network 130 may include a cellular network (e.g., a fifth generation (5G) network, a long term evolution (LTE) network, a third generation (3G) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, etc.), a public land mobile network (PLMN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a telephone network (e.g., a public switched telephone network (PSTN)), a private network, an ad-hoc network, an intranet, the Internet, an optical fiber-based network, etc., and / or a combination of these or other types of networks.

[0021] The number and arrangement of devices and networks shown in Figure 1 are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional devices and / or networks, fewer devices and / or networks, different devices and / or networks, or different arrangements of devices and / or networks than those shown in Figure 1. Furthermore, two or more devices shown in Figure 1 may be implemented within a single device, or a single device shown in Figure 1 may be implemented as multiple distributed devices. Additionally or alternatively, a set of devices (e.g., one or more devices) of environment 100 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of devices of environment 100.

[0022] Figure 2 is a block diagram of example components of one or more devices of Figure 1. Device 200 may correspond to user device 110 and / or platform 120. As shown in Figure 2, device 200 may include a bus 210, a processor 220, a memory 230, a storage component 240, an input component 250, an output component 260, and a communication interface 270.

[0023] The bus 210 includes components that enable communication between the components of the device 200. The processor 220 is implemented in hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. The processor 220 is a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an accelerated processing unit (APU), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or another type of processing component. In some implementations, the processor 220 includes one or more processors that can be programmed to perform functions. The memory 230 includes random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), and / or another type of dynamic or static storage device (e.g., flash memory, magnetic memory, and / or optical memory) that stores information and / or instructions used by the processor 220.

[0024] Storage component 240 stores information and / or software related to the operation and use of device 200. For example, storage component 240 may include a hard disk (e.g., a magnetic disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, and / or solid-state disk), a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a floppy disk, a cartridge, a magnetic tape, and / or another type of non-transitory computer-readable medium along with a corresponding drive.

[0025] Input components 250 include components that enable device 200 to receive information, such as by user input (e.g., a touch screen display, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, buttons, switches, and / or a microphone). Additionally or alternatively, input components 250 may include sensors for sensing information (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) component, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and / or an actuator). Output components 260 include components that provide output information from device 200 (e.g., a display, a speaker, and / or one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs)).

[0026] Communications interface 270 includes transceiver-like components (e.g., a transceiver and / or a separate receiver and transmitter) that enable device 200 to communicate with other devices via a wired connection, a wireless connection, or a combination of wired and wireless connections, etc. Communications interface 270 may enable device 200 to receive information from another device and / or provide information to another device. For example, communications interface 270 may include an Ethernet interface, an optical interface, a coaxial interface, an infrared interface, a radio frequency (RF) interface, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a Wi-Fi interface, a cellular network interface, etc.

[0027] The device 200 may perform one or more processes described herein. The device 200 may perform these processes in response to the processor 220 executing software instructions stored by a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as the memory 230 and / or the storage component 240. A computer-readable medium is defined herein as a non-transitory memory device. A memory device includes memory space within a single physical storage device or memory space spread across multiple physical storage devices.

[0028] Software instructions may be loaded into memory 230 and / or storage component 240 from another computer-readable medium or from another device via communication interface 270. The software instructions stored in memory 230 and / or storage component 240, when executed, may cause processor 220 to perform one or more processes described herein. Additionally or alternatively, hardwired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to perform one or more processes described herein. Thus, implementations described herein are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

[0029] The number and arrangement of components shown in Figure 2 are provided as an example. In practice, device 200 may include additional, fewer, different, or differently arranged components than those shown in Figure 2. Additionally or alternatively, a set of components (e.g., one or more components) of device 200 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components of device 200.

[0030] A 5G Media Streaming (5GMS) system may be a collection of application functions, application servers, and interfaces derived from the 5G Media Streaming architecture that support either downlink or uplink media streaming services, or both. A 5GMS application provider may include a party that interacts with the functions of the 5GMS system and supplies a 5GMS-aware application that interacts with the functions of the 5GMS system. A 5GMS-aware application may refer to an application in a user equipment (UE) provided by a 5GMS application provider that contains the service logic of a 5GMS application service and interacts with other 5GMS clients and network functions via interfaces and application programming interfaces (APIs) defined in the 5GMS architecture. A 5GMS client may refer to a UE function that is either a 5GMS downlink (5GMSd) client or a 5GMS uplink (5GMSu) client, or both.

[0031] A 5GMSd client may refer to a UE function that includes at least a 5G media streaming player and a media session handler for downlink streaming and can be accessed through a well-defined interface / API. A 5GMSu client may refer to a source of 5GMSu services that can be accessed through a well-defined interface / API. A 5GMSu media streamer may refer to a UE function that enables uplink delivery of streaming media content to an application server (AS) function of a 5GMS application provider and interacts with both 5GMSu aware applications for media capture and subsequent streaming and a media session handler for media session control.

[0032] A dynamic policy can refer to dynamic policy and charging control (PCC) rules for uplink or downlink application flows during a media session. An ingest session can refer to an uplink media streaming session from a 5GMS AS towards a 5GMSu application provider. An ingest session can refer to a session for uploading media content to a 5GMSd AS. A policy template can refer to a collection of (quasi-static) policy or control function (PCF) / network publishing function (NEF) API parameters specific to a 5GMS application provider and can also refer to the resulting PCC rules. A policy template ID can identify the desired policy template, which is used by the 5GMSd application function (AF) to select the appropriate PCF / NEF API towards the 5G system so that the PCF can compile the desired PCC rules. A media player entry can point to a document or a pointer to a document that defines a media presentation (e.g., a media presentation description (MPD) for DASH or a uniform resource locator (URL) to a video clip file). The media streamer entry may point to a pointer (e.g., in the form of a URL) that defines an entry point for an uplink media streaming session. The presentation entry may point to a document or a pointer to a document that defines an application presentation, such as an HTML5 document.

[0033] The provisioning session may refer to a data structure provided at an interface (M1d) by a 5GMSd application provider that configures 5GMSd features related to a set of 5GMSd-aware applications. The 5GMSd media player may refer to a UE function that allows playback and rendering of media presentations based on media play entries, as well as exposing some basic controls such as play, pause, search, stop to 5GMSd-aware applications. The server access information may refer to a set of parameters and addresses (including the 5GMSd AF address and the 5GMSd AS address) that are required to activate the acceptance of a streaming session. The service and content discovery may refer to the functions and procedures provided by the 5GMSd application provider to a 5GMS-aware application that allows an end user to discover available streaming services and content offerings and select a particular service or content item for access. The service announcement may refer to a procedure that takes place between a 5GMS-aware application and a 5GMS application provider so that the 5GMS-aware application can obtain the access information of a 5GMS service directly or in the form of a reference to that information.

[0034] A third-party player may refer to a portion of an application that uses the API to perform selected 5GMSd functions to thereby play media content, and a third-party uplink streamer may refer to a portion of an application that uses the API to perform selected 5GMSu functions to thereby ingest and stream media content.

[0035] 3 is a diagram of a media architecture 300 for media uplink streaming, according to an embodiment. A 5GMSu application provider 301 may use 5GMSu for uplink streaming services. The 5GMSu application provider 301 may provide a 5GMSu aware application 302 on the UE 303 to utilize the 5GMSu client 304 and network functions using interfaces and APIs defined in 5GMSu. The 5GMSu AS may be an AS dedicated to 5G media uplink streaming. The 5GMSu client 304 may be a UE 303 internal function dedicated to 5G media uplink streaming.

[0036] The 5GMSu AF 306 and the 5GMSu AS 305 may be functions of a data network (DN) 307. Functions in a trusted DN may be trusted by the operator's network. Thus, AFs in a trusted DN can communicate directly with all 5G core functions. Functions in a foreign DN can only communicate with the 5G core functions via the NEF 308 using the link 320.

[0037] The media architecture 300 can connect the internal functions of the UE 303 and related network functions for 5G media uplink streaming. Thus, the media architecture 300 can include several functions. For example, the 5GMSu client 304 on the UE 303 can be the originator of 5GMSu services that can be accessed through an interface / API. The 5GMSu client 304 can include two sub-functions: a media session handler 309 and a media streamer 310. The media session handler 309 can communicate with the 5GMSu AF 306 to establish, control, and support the delivery of media sessions. The media session handler 309 can expose APIs that can be used by the 5GMSu aware applications 302. The media streamer 310 can communicate with the 5GMSu AS 305 to stream media content, provide services to the 5GMSu aware applications 302 for media capturing and streaming, and provide services to the media session handler 309 for media session control. The 5GMSu aware application 302 may control the 5GMSu client 304 by implementing external application or content service provider specific logic and enabling the establishment of a media session. The 5GMSu AS 305 may host 5G media functions and may be implemented, for example, as a content delivery network (CDN). The 5GMSu application provider 301 may be an external application or content specific media function, for example media storage, consumption, transcoding and redistribution, that uses 5GMSu to stream media from the 5GMSu aware application 302. The 5GMSu AF 306 may provide various control functions to the media session handler 309 on the UE 303 and / or the 5GMSu application provider 301.The 5GMSu AF 306 may relay or initiate requests for different PCF 311 processes or interact with other network functions.

[0038] The media architecture 300 may include several different interfaces. For example, link 321 may relate to M1u, which may be a 5GMSu provisioning API exposed by the 5GMSu AF 306 to provision the use of the media architecture 300 and obtain feedback. Link 322 may relate to M2u, which may be a 5GMSu publishing API exposed by the 5GMSu AS 305 and used when a 5GMSu AS 305 in a trusted DN, such as DN 307, is selected to receive content for streaming services. Link 323 may relate to M3u, which may be an internal API used to exchange information for content hosting on the 5GMSu AS 305 in a trusted DN, such as DN 307. Link 324 may relate to M4u, which may be a media uplink streaming API exposed by the 5GMSu AS 323 to the media streamer 310 to stream media content. Link 325 may relate to M5u, which may be a media session handling API exposed by the 5GMSu AF 305 to the media session handler for processing, controlling and assisting the media session, including appropriate security mechanisms, e.g., authorization and authentication. Link 326 may relate to M6u, which may be a media session handling API of the UE 303 exposed by the media session handler 309 to the 5GMSu aware application 302 to utilize the 5GMSu functionality. Link 327 may relate to M7u, which may be a media streamer API of the UE exposed by the media streamer 310 to the 5GMSu aware application 302 and the media session handler 309 to utilize the media streamer 310.The link 328 may relate to M8u, which may be an application API used for information exchange between the 5GMSu aware application 302 and the 5GMSu application provider 301, for example to provide service access information to the 5GMSu aware application 302. The UE 303 may also be implemented self-contained such that the interfaces M6u 326 and M7u 327 are not exposed.

[0039] FIG. 4 is a diagram of a media architecture 400 for media downlink streaming, according to an embodiment. A 5GMSd application provider 401 may use 5GMSd for downlink streaming services. The 5GMSd application provider 401 may provide a 5GMSd aware application 402 on a UE 403 to utilize a 5GMSd client 404 and network functions using interfaces and APIs defined in 5GMSd. The 5GMSd AS may be an AS dedicated to 5G media downlink streaming. The 5GMSd client 404 may be a UE 403 internal function dedicated to 5G media downlink streaming.

[0040] The 5GMSd AF 406 and the 5GMSd AS 405 may be DN 407 functions. Functions in a trusted DN may be trusted by the operator's network. Thus, AFs in a trusted DN can communicate directly with all 5G core functions. Functions in a foreign DN can only communicate with the 5G core functions via the NEF 408 using link 420.

[0041] The media architecture 400 can connect UE 403 internal functions and related network functions for 5G media downlink streaming. Thus, the media architecture 400 can include several functions. For example, the 5GMSd client 404 on the UE 403 may be a recipient of 5GMSd services that can be accessed through an interface / API. The 5GMSd client 404 can include two sub-functions: a media session handler 409 and a media player 410. The media session handler 409 can communicate with the 5GMSd AF 406 to establish, control, and support the delivery of media sessions. The media session handler 409 can expose APIs that can be used by the 5GMSd aware applications 402. The media player 410 can communicate with the 5GMSd AS 405 to stream media content and provide services to the 5GMSd aware applications 402 for media playback and to the media session handler 409 for media session control. The 5GMSd aware application 402 may control the 5GMSd client 404 by implementing external application or content service provider specific logic and enabling the establishment of a media session. The 5GMSd AS 405 may host the 5G media functions. The 5GMSd application provide 401 may be external application or content specific media functions, e.g., media generation, encoding, and formatting, that use the 5GMSd to stream media to the 5GMSd aware application 402. The 5GMSd AF 406 may provide various control functions to the media session handler 409 on the UE 403 and / or the 5GMSd application provider 401. The 5GMSd AF 406 may relay or initiate requests for different PCF 411 processing or interact with other network functions.

[0042] The media architecture 400 may include several different interfaces. For example, link 421 may relate to M1d, which may be a 5GMSd provisioning API exposed by the 5GMSd AF 406 to provision the use of the media architecture 400 and obtain feedback. Link 422 may relate to M2d, which may be a 5GMSd ingest API exposed by the 5GMSd AS 405 and used when a 5GMSd AS 405 in a trusted DN, such as DN 407, is selected to receive content for a streaming service. Link 423 may relate to M3d, which may be an internal API used to exchange information for content hosting on the 5GMSd AS 405 in a trusted DN, such as DN 407. Link 424 may relate to M4d, which may be a media downlink streaming API exposed by the 5GMSd AS 423 to the media player 410 to stream media content. Link 425 may relate to M5d, which may be a media session handling API exposed by 5GMSd AF 405 to the media session handler for processing, controlling and assisting the media session, including appropriate security mechanisms, e.g., authorization and authentication. Link 426 may relate to M6d, which may be a media session handling API of the UE 403 exposed by media session handler 409 to 5GMSd aware applications 402 to utilize 5GMSd functionality. Link 427 may relate to M7d, which may be a media player API of the UE exposed by media player 410 to 5GMSd aware applications 402 and media session handler 409 to utilize media player 410.The link 428 may be related to M8d, which may be an application API used to exchange information between the 5GMSd aware application 402 and the 5GMSd application provider 401, for example to provide service access information to the 5GMSd aware application 402.

[0043] 5 is a diagram of a standalone augmented reality (AR) (STAR) 5GMSd download architecture 500, according to an embodiment. The AR STAR 5GMSd architecture 500 can also be applied to mixed reality (MR). The architecture 500 includes a 5G STAR UE 502, a 5G system 504 (i.e., 5G server and compute), and an AR / MR application provider 506. The 5G STAR UE 502 includes an AR runtime 508, an AR scene manager 510, a media access function 512, and an AR / MR application 514. The AR runtime 508 includes an extended reality (XR) computation module 516, a pose correction module 518, and a sound field mapping module 520. The AR scene manager 510 includes a scene graph handler (SGH) 521, a compositor 522, an immersive visual renderer 523, and an immersive audio renderer 524. The media access function 512 includes a media session handler 526 and a media client 528. The media client 528 includes a two-dimensional (2D) codec 530, an immersive media decoder 532, a scene description delivery module 534, a content delivery module 536, and an XR spatial description delivery module 538. The 5G STAR UE 502 includes a 5G system (Uu) 540 that communicates with a 5G node (gNb) 542 of the 5G system 504.

[0044] The 5G system 504 includes a media AF 544 and a media AS 546. The AR / MR application provider 506 includes an AR function 548 and an AR scene module 550. The media client 528 communicates with the media AS 546 by an M4 interface 582. The media session handler 526 communicates with the media AF 544 by an M5 interface 586. The AR / MR application 514 communicates with the AR / MR application provider 506 by an M8 interface 588. The AR / MR application 514 can receive user input 591 and data of the AR runtime API 590 from the AR runtime 508. The AR runtime 508 can receive data from a camera 592 and a sensor 593 and can output data to a display 594 and a speaker 595.

[0045] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a call flow that includes two loops: an outer loop for streaming scenes and scene updates, and an inner loop for streaming media objects for each scene.

[0046] 6A, 6B, and 6C are diagrams of an operational flow of STAR-based 5G downlink streaming, according to an embodiment. A system performing the operational flow of FIG. 6 may include an AR / MR application 606, an AR runtime 608, an AR / MR scene manager 610, a media client 612, and a media session handler 614, which may be part of a STAR UE 602 (and the media client 612 and media session handler 614 may be part of a media access function). The system also includes a 5GMSd AF 616, a 5GMSd AS 618. The system may also include an AR / MR application provider 620. The application provider 620 may be referred to as a scene server.

[0047] In operation 630, scene content is captured by the 5GMSd AS 618. In operation 632, service announcement and content delivery is triggered by the AR / MR application 606. The service access information includes the media client entry, or a reference to the service access information is provided through the M8d interface. In operation 634, media content / scene is selected. In operation 636, the service access information is obtained or updated as needed (i.e., operation 636 may be optional). In operation 638, the AR / MR application 606 initializes the scene manager 610 with the entry point (i.e., full scene description) URL. In operation 640, the media client 612 establishes a transport session to receive the entry point.

[0048] Actions 641 through 672 establish a scene session loop in which the system requests and renders scenes and scene updates.

[0049] In operation 641, the media client 612 requests and receives an entry point or an update to the scene description. In operation 642, the entry point is processed. In operation 644, the AR / MR scene manager 610 requests the creation of a new AR / MR session from the AR runtime 608. In operation 646, the AR runtime 608 creates the new AR / MR session. In operation 648, a streaming session is created. The media client 612 and / or the AR / MR scene manager 610 can provide the required quality of service (QoS) information to the media session handler 614. In operation 650, the streaming session(s) are configured. The media session handler 614 can share information with the 5GMSd AF 616, including the desired QoS information in some embodiments. Based on existing provisioning by the AR / MR application provider 620, the 5GMSd AF 616 can request QoS changes to the protocol data unit (PDU) session.

[0050] Operations 652-656 establish a media session for each media stream object. In operation 652, a transport session for the distribution manifest is established. For the required media content, the media client 612 establishes a transport session to obtain the distribution manifest information. In operation 654, the media client 612 requests and receives the distribution manifest from the 5GMSd AS 618. In operation 656, the media client 612 processes the distribution manifest. The media client 612 determines, for example, the number of transport sessions required for media acquisition. The media client 612 is configured to initialize a media pipeline for each media stream using the distribution manifest information.

[0051] At operation 658, the AR / MR scene manager 610 and the media client 612 configure a rendering and distribution media pipeline. At operation 660, the media client 612 establishes a transport session to obtain the media content.

[0052] Acts 662-672 establish a media session loop (i.e., inner session loop) within a scene session loop (i.e., outer session loop). The media session loop can operate to render and present media content while the outer loop establishes the session and receives updates to the media content. Updates can be sent from the outer session loop to the inner session loop while the inner session loop is rendering the content.

[0053] In operation 662, the latest pose information (e.g., updated scene or content) is obtained by the AR / MR scene manager 610 and shared with the media client 612. In operation 664, the media client 612 requests immersive media data according to the processed distribution manifest. The media client 612 can take into account the pose information (e.g., viewport-dependent streaming). In operation 666, the media client 612 receives the immersive data and triggers the media rendering pipeline(s) accordingly, including the registration of the AR content to the real world. In operation 668, the media client 612 decrypts and processes the media data. In case of encrypted media data, the media client 612 can also perform decryption. In operation 670, the media client 612 passes the media data to the AR / MR scene manager 610. In operation 672, the AR / MR scene manager 610 renders the media and passes the rendered media to the AR runtime 608. The AR runtime 608 can perform further processing such as registering the AR content to the real world and pose correction.

[0054] The AR / MR scene can be dynamically updated during streaming to the STAR device, thus the scene can be completely changed during a streaming session. Scene updates for a STAR device are accomplished with a double-loop call flow, where in the inner loop, the media objects of the scene are streamed, while in the outer loop, the scene is updated or changed. According to the embodiments disclosed herein, whenever the scene is updated and changed, the inner loop is interrupted and the previous media objects are replaced with new media objects related to the new scene, thus streaming bandwidth is not wasted for media objects that are no longer relevant in the new scene.

[0055] 7 is a flow chart of a method of STAR-based 5G downlink streaming, according to an embodiment. In operation 702, the system selects media content including a scene. In operation 704, the system creates an AR / MR session for streaming the media content in an outer session loop. In operation 706, the system renders the media content in an inner session loop within the outer session loop. In operation 708, the system updates the scene with the new scene in the outer session loop by providing the new scene to the inner session loop while the inner session loop is rendering the media content.

[0056] Although Figure 7 illustrates example blocks of process 700, in some implementations, process 700 may include additional, fewer, different, or differently arranged blocks relative to those shown in Figure 7. Additionally or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 700 may be performed in parallel.

[0057] Additionally, the proposed methods may be implemented by a processing circuit (e.g., one or more processors, or one or more integrated circuits). In one example, the one or more processors execute a program stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium to perform one or more of the proposed methods.

[0058] The techniques described above may be implemented as computer software tangibly stored on one or more computer-readable medium(s) using computer-readable instructions.

[0059] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be used separately or combined in any order. Furthermore, each of the embodiments (and methods thereof) may be implemented by a processing circuit (e.g., one or more processors, or one or more integrated circuits). In one example, the one or more processors execute a program stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

[0060] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the implementations.

[0061] As used herein, the term component is intended to be interpreted broadly as hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0062] Although combinations of features are recited in the claims and / or disclosed herein, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of possible implementations. Indeed, many of these features can be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and / or disclosed herein. Although each dependent claim set forth below may depend directly on only one claim, the disclosure of possible implementations includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set.

[0063] No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless expressly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles "a" and "an" are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with "one or more." Additionally, as used herein, the term "set" is intended to include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, combinations of related and unrelated items, etc.) and may be used interchangeably with "one or more." When only one item is intended, the term "one" or similar words are used. Also, as used herein, terms such as "has, have, having" are intended to be open-ended terms. Additionally, the phrase "based on" is intended to mean "based at least in part on," unless otherwise specified. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 100 Environment 110 User Devices 120 Platform 122 Cloud Computing Environment 124 computing resources 124-1 Application (APP) 124-2 Virtual Machine (VM) 124-3 Virtualized Storage (VS) 124-4 Hypervisor (HYP) 130 Network 200 devices 210 Bus 220 Processor 230 Memory 240 Storage Components 250 Input Components 260 Output Components 270 Communication Interface 300 Media Architecture 301 5GMSu Application Provider 302 5GMSu-aware Applications 303 User Equipment (UE) 304 5GMSuClient 305 5GMSu AS 306 5GMSu AF 307 Data Network (DN) 308 Network Published Function (NEF) 309 Media Session Handler 310 Media Streamer 311 Different PCFs 320,321,322,323,324,325,326,327,328 Links 400 Media Architecture 401 5GMSd Application Provider 402 5GMSd Aware Application 403UE 404 5MSdClient 405 5GMSd AS 406 5GMSd AF 407 DN 408 NEF 409 Media Session Handler 410 Media Player 411 Different PCFs 420,421,422,423,424,425,426,427,428 Links 500 Standalone Augmented Reality (AR) (STAR) 5GMSd Download Architecture 502 5G STAR UE 504 5G System 506 AR / MR Application Providers 508 AR Runtime 510 AR Scene Manager 512 Media Access Function 514 AR / MR Applications 516 Extended Reality (XR) Computation Module 518 Pose Correction Module 520 Sound Field Mapping Module 521 Scene Graph Handler 522 Compositor 523 Immersive Visual Renderer 524 Immersive Audio Renderer 526 Media Session Handler 528 Media Client 530 Two-dimensional (2D) codec 532 Immersive Media Decoder 534 Scene Description Distribution Module 536 Content Delivery Module 538 XR spatial description delivery module 540 5G System (Uu) 542 5G nodes (gNb) 544 Media AF 546 Media AS 548 AR function 550 AR Scene Module 582 M4 Interface 586 M5 Interface 588 M8 Interface 590 AR Runtime API 591 User Input 592 Camera 593 Sensors 594 Display 595 Speaker 602 STAR UE 606 AR / MR Applications 608 AR Runtime 610 AR / MR Scene Manager 612 Media Client 614 Media Session Handler 616 5GMSd AF 618 5GMSd AS 620 AR / MR Application Providers 700 processes

Claims

1. 1. A method executed by at least one processor, comprising: selecting a scene and media content; creating an augmented reality (AR) / mixed reality (MR) session for streaming the media content in a scene session loop; rendering the media content in a media session loop within the scene session loop; updating the scene with the new scene in the scene session loop by providing the new scene to the media session loop while the media session loop is rendering the media content; A method comprising:

2. updating the scene, sending updated pause information to the media session loop 2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

3. updating the scene, requesting immersive media based on the updated pause information in the media session loop.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

4. updating the scene, receiving the immersive media in the media session loop; registering the AR content of the immersive media in a real world in the media session loop; 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

5. updating the scene, Decoding and processing the immersive media in the media session loop.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

6. determining, in the scene session loop, a number of transport sessions required for media acquisition based on the media content; The method of claim 1, further comprising:

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the number of required transport sessions is determined based on distribution manifest information.

8. at least one memory configured to store program code; at least one processor configured to read said program code and to operate as instructed by said program code, said program code causing said at least one processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 7; A device comprising:

9. A computer program causing a computer to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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